The Bergman family, a Jewish couple from Czechoslovakia, were evacuated from Metz in 1939, with their three-and-a-half year old daughter Paulette. They settled in St. -Céré, a town in the département of Lot. In the spring of 1943, they entrusted their daughter to the Berthoumeyrou family who had expressed their willingness to help the destitute, displaced Bergman family. Paul Berthoumeyrou lived with his wife Jeanne and twenty-one-year-old daughter, Colette, in Sarlat, a city in the departement of Dordogne. Colette became Paulette’s main caregiver, and the Berthoumeyrous taught the little girl to call Jeanne, “marraine” (“godmother”) and, if asked, to say that her parents had been killed in bombardments. Paulette was treated warmly, even pampered more than the other members of the family. The Berthoumeyrous had a cannery next to the house. The cannery workers made toys for Paulette and treated her like the boss’s granddaughter. Throughout the occupation, the cannery workers and strangers were told that the Jewish girl was a Christian orphan. The Berthoumeyrous stayed in constant touch with Paulette’s parents and other members of her family who had found refuge in Sarlat. They sent photographs of Paulette to her parents and sometimes were able to bring her to meet her aunts at the town barbershop. The Berthoumeyrous regularly sent parcels of food and clothing to the Bergmans. Paulette stayed with the Berthoumeyrous until 1945.

After the war, the Bergmans returned to Metz, and the Berthoumeyrou and Bergman families stayed in touch. Paulette was six years old when she returned to Metz. She was enrolled in school but became seriously ill. She recuperated at the Berthoumeyrous for five months, and after her recovery she visited them regularly during school vacations. On May 31, 1993, Yad Vashem recognized Paul and Jeanne Berthoumeyrou as Righteous Among the Nations.